J K Rowling’s plot grid

It must be 10 years or more since I first saw this: J K Rowling’s plot grid for part of Order of the Phoenix. As usual, creative success looks a lot more like work than inspiration.

#books #creativity

Episode 5 of Lost, Season 1 is titled, “White Rabbit”, which led us to a conversation about Alice going down the rabbit hole, Lewis Carrol, and one of my very favourite poems. I first read Jabberwocky as a small child, and it was a huge step on my road to loving language.

Carrol’s nonsense words are evocative, but it’s the rhythm that I truly love…

Jabberwocky

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Finished The Running Grave (again) and was equally surprised the second time around.

My ability to forget plots remains godlike.

Shout out to "Robert Galbraith" for another cracking story and to Robert Glenister's brilliant audio performance, which allows the "reading" to continue even when I'm forced to stand up and "do something useful".

Can't wait for the next novel in a couple of weeks.